Girls and Science: A Review of Four Themes in the Science Education Literature

Brotman, Jennie S.; Moore, Felicia M.

Journal of Research in Science Teaching, v45 n9 p971-1002 Nov 2008

Despite valuable syntheses of the field of gender and science education, there has not been a systematic, comprehensive review of the literature on gender and science education in recent years. We examine the literature pertaining to girls' engagement in science and develop four themes (equity and access, curriculum and pedagogy, the nature and culture of science, and identity) that we believe provide a coherent picture of the different kinds of approaches happening currently, while at the same time allowing for discussion of how ideas in the field have progressed and changed over time. We present new questions and approaches for further research that arise when applying insights from these themes to ongoing work in gender and science education. (Contains 4 tables and 6 notes.)